Bottling machine



Nov. 14, 1933.

Filed May 28, 1

FIE.

J. W. FLOWER BOTTLING MACHINE patented Nov. 14, 1933 PATENT OFFICE. v

BOTTLING MACHINE John Walter Flower, Wimborne, England Application May 28, 1930, Serial No. 456,641, and in Great Britain and Northern Ireland November 1, 1929 7 Claims.

This invention relates to bottling machines and more particularly to filling and crowning heads therefor.

In such machines as hitherto made it has been the practice to first fill the bottle by inserting a filling tube or tubes into it or by forcing its tive to one another so that the crowning head can be introduced over a filled bottle and after applying the crown one of the heads is removed to? leave a clear path for the next bottle that is to be filled.

The filling head may be of the kind provided with a long tube ortubes arranged to extend almost to the bottom of the bottle to be filled or it may be of any other suitable type. It is, however, preferably provided with a short tube which enters the neck of the bottle and discharges the liquid in radial manner from its end, as set out in my co-pending application Serial No. 455,774, filed May 26, 1930.

The crowning head is preferably slidably mounted on the filling head and may comprise a centering bell above which is a receptacle into which crowns are appropriately fed and above the receptacle is a crowning cone whichnormally contains a plunger. When a bottle is to be crowned the crowning head is shifted by hand or automatically to bring the cone, filling head, and bottle into alignment. The bottle mouth. can then pass through the bell and in so doing takes up the crown in the receptacle and passes on into the cone where the crown is aflixed. The crown and bottle lift the plunger partly out of the cone and this acts against a loading spring to supply resilient downward pressure during 50. crowning.

The filling head is preferably provided with a spring-loaded filling bell and the plunger may be arranged to press against this bell for Ohtaining the resilient downward pressure.

A rotary machine may be fitted with a num- The crowning heads are movably mountedrela ber of the above filling and crowning heads and automatic means in the form of ramps acting on say rollers on the crowning heads may be used for sliding heads to and from the crowning position.

The ramp or part thereof for returning the said heads may be pivoted and normally held in correct position by a spring. In the event of a bottle breaking whilst being crowned and the neck remaining within the crowning cone, return movement of the crowning head will be prevented due to the plunger engaging the filling head. The machine will continue to run and the movable part of the ramp will be displaced and by any suitable means disconnect the drive to the machine.

The invention is illustrated by way of exam ple in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a somewhat diagrammatic plan view of part of my rotary filling and crowning machine, and

Fig, 2 is a part sectional view of a filling and crowning head. The filling head is in accordance with my co-pending application Serial No. 455,- 774, fi1ed May 26, 1930, but as previously stated this head may be of any suitable form.

It will be understood, see for example my copending application Serial No. 455,774, filed May .26, 1930,'that the filling heads 1 rotate, together.

with rams in cylinders arranged beneath them, about the vertical axis of the machine, the rams having stirrups at their upper ends in which the bottles are arranged and being adapted to raise and lower the bottles into and out of the filling head 1 before and after the said bottle is filled. The rams and cylinders may be constructed in accordance with my co-pending application Serial No. 456,232, filed May 2'7, 1930.

The filled bottles are lowered from the heads 1 and the machine continues to turn so that rollers 3 on the crowning heads 2 successively bear against a stationary ramp 4 fixed on the machine and consequently the heads 2 are moved inwardly of the machine one after the other; A resilient block 4 at the peak of the ramp takes up inequalities between the various heads, etc. The heads 2 are movable on slide-tracks 5 on the heads 1 and each comprises a centering bell 6 and a concentric crowning cone 7 between which bell and cone is a receptacle 8 for crowns that are fed to it preferably by the transfer mechanism according to my co-pending application Serial No. 457,347, filed May 29, 1930.

When the heads 2 reach the full line position shown in Fig. 2 the rams lift the bottles so that the mouths thereof pass through bells 6 and take up a crown which is aifixed in the cone 7. The top of the crown lifts a plunger 9 out of the cone. The plunger is flanged at 10 and presses against a spring-loaded filling bell 11 in the head 1 so that resilient downward pressure is provided during crowning. The delivery tubes in the head are received by a recess 12 in the plunger.

Immediately after the crowning the ram drops and the bottle drops with it partly by gravity and partly due to the pressure on the plunger. The rollers 3 then come into engagement with a ramp 13 which returns the heads 2 to the out of use positions.

Provision is made for automatically stopping the machine in the event of a neck of a bottle that has broken under crowning pressure wedging in the coneand return movement of the head being prevented due to the plunger engaging the filling recess in the head 1, by raking part 13' of the ramp 13 movable about a pivot 1 1 and connecting the said ramp to a suitable trip gear. Normally the movable part of the ramp is held in the position shown by means of a spring 15. If a roller 3 and its head 2 cannot move outwardly the movable part of the ramp turns on the pivot and through a connecting rod 16 and arm 17 fixed to a shaft 18, operates a trip gear which stops the machine until the head has been cleared. The trip gear may be of the form set out in my co-pending application Serial No. 455,- 774, filed May 26, 1930, in which case the shaft 70 therein and the shaft 18 herein would be one and the same. 35

The crowning head 2 may be used in conjunction with a filling head of any suitable kind and the machine to which the combined head is fitted may. be of multior single type.

What I claim is:--

1. In a bottling machine, in combination a filling head and a crowning head in juxtaposition tothe filling head and a mounting on which the crowning head is movable with respect to the filling head for alignment with a bottle filled by the filling head, said filling head including a fill ing bell and said crowning head comprising a centering bell, a crowning coneabove the centering bell, a crown receptacle between the centering bell and cone, a plunger in the'cone, and a spring common to the filling bell in the filling head and the plunger in the crowning head, said spring tending to force the plunger towards a bottle mouth introduced into the head.

2. In a rotary bottling machine, a plurality of filling heads, a plurality of crowning heads, each crowning head being in juxtaposition to a separate one of the filling heads, means for engaging each filling head with a bottle and for engaging each crowning head with a-bottle for performing filling and crowning operations in sequence, automatic means for stopping the machine in the event of a bottle breaking during crowning.

3. In a rotary bottling machine, a plurality of filling heads, a plurality of crowning heads, each crowning head being in juxtaposition to a separate one of the filling heads, means for engaging each filling head with a bottle and for engaging each crowning head with a bottle for performing filling and crowning operations in sequence, ramps for moving the heads in sequence and means operated by one of the ramps for stopping the machine in the event of bottle breakage.

4. In a rotary bottling machine, a plurality of filling heads, a crowning head carried by and movable with respect to each filling head, means arranged in the path of movement of the crowning heads to engage and force each crowning head in succession into alignment with the filling head for the crowning operation, and means arranged in the path of movement of the crowning heads to withdraw the crowning head from alignment with the filling head immediately following the crowning operation.

I 5. In a rotary bottling machine, a plurality of filling heads, a crowning head carried by and movable with respect to each filling head, means arranged in the path of movement'of the crowning heads to engage and force each crowning head in succession into alignment with the filling head for the crowning operation, and means arranged in the path of movement of the crowning heads to withdraw the crowning head from alignment with the filling head immediately following the crowning operation, said latter meansyielding and controlling the operation of the machine in the event the crowning head cannot be withdrawn.

6. In a rotary bottling machine, a plurality of filling heads, a crowning head carried by and movable with respect to each filling head, a member having an inclined surface in the path of movement of the crowning heads, an element on each crowning head to engage said inclined surface and in the movement of the crowning and filling heads'force the crowning head into alignment with the filling head, and means operating on said element following the crowning operation to withdraw the crowning head from alignment with the filling head.

7 In a rotary bottling machine, a plurality of filling heads, a crowning head carried by and movable with each filling head, an element arranged in the path of movement of the crowning heads and having an inclined surface, a member on each crowning head to engage saidsurface in the movement of the crowning head and force said crowning head into alignment with the filling head for the crowning operation, a ramp to engage the member carried by the crowning head followingithe crowning operation to withdraw the crowning head from alignment with the filling head, said ramp being yieldable under undue resistance of the crowning-head to movement thereby, and means for controlling machine operation connected to and operated in the yieldable movement of'said ramp.

' JOHN WALTER FLOWER. 

